A smart product is any gadget or device that has built-in internet connectivity. When you amass a number of these to improve your day-to-day living conditions, you can then claim to have a smart home (some prefer to call it home automation).

1. Smart Products Aren’t Always Convenient…

The ultimate goal of the smart home revolution, and technology as a whole, is to make your life easier. Ideally, smart homes will eventually allow you to live at home without having to worry about cooking, making coffee, doing laundry, or wasting energy. Everything will be automated.

But we’re far from that picturesque future.

Take lighting, for example. You can install a smart lighting set that automatically turns on when you enter a room and turns off when you leave — but there’s a lot of initial setup that needs to be done to get it working. Is it worth the trouble when you can just flick a light switch instead?

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Indeed, learning curves are a big problem for smart products, mainly because each product is uniquely different. Learning how to operate your Nest thermostat (UK) doesn’t ease the learning process of setting up a smart door lock or a smart garden sprinkler.

Not to mention all of the clutter. Every smart home devices usually comes with its own special app that you need to use to control said devices. If you buy 10 different gadgets, that’s 10 apps you need to juggle around. And what about physical clutter? Do you really need an Amazon Echo Dot in every room?

That being said, many smart products are barely any better than their “dumb” equivalents. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that smart devices are just gimmicks or anything like that, but I will say that most smart products are priced too expensively for what they offer.

Truth is, many smart products try to “do it all” and end up being subpar at all of it. Why pay hundreds more for a “smart” refrigerator that can browse the web when you already have a phone, tablet, and computer that can do it more efficiently? Do you need a “smart” smoke detector when a “dumb” one is just as effective?

3. Smart Products Are Prone to Abandonment

Every so often, I’ll turn on my smart TV and get a message that “App X will be discontinued on…”, indicating that some company no longer cares enough to support their smart TV app. When I first got my smart TV years ago, it had hundreds of apps. Now it only has dozens.

The smart home industry is still in its infancy, which means things are still rapidly changing — and as the landscape changes, some apps and devices will inevitably be left behind.

Obsolescence is a notable problem in the tech industry, but noticeably worse in the smart home sphere. Not that these companies are practicing planned obsolescence — at least not yet — but you never know when a company may shut down its servers, and that’s always a big risk.

For example, one of the benefits of getting a smart security camera is that the footage is automatically uploaded to manufacturer-provided cloud storage. If that service is discontinued, you lose out on one of its biggest features — and you might even lose all of the footage you’ve kept stored.

4. Security and Privacy Concerns Are Real

For many, this may just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. How would you feel if the government could listen in on your private conversations with your Amazon Echo’s microphone? Or what if they could watch you through your smart TV’s camera?

Or worse yet, what about hackers?

These fears are common when it comes to internet-connected devices, but what’s really frightening is that these fears aren’t just paranoia. They have roots in reality. Anything that is hooked up to the internet at large can potentially be eavesdropped or compromised.

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Some of the risks aren’t so obvious. Setting up security cameras throughout your home may improve your sense of safety and well-being, but if hackers gain access to those cameras, they’ll know exactly when you’re home and when you aren’t, giving them the perfect opportunity to burglarize.

How Do You Feel About Smart Homes?

Nobody can tell you what to do — the decision is yours alone to make. All we can do is provide you with as much information as possible so your decision is an informed one.

Are we excited about smart homes? You bet. Do we want to see where all of this eventually leads? Absolutely. But are we going to practice skepticism and caution? Yes, yes, yes. Weigh the scales and tell us where you land.

Are you on board the smart home hype-train? Or have you recently jumped off the bandwagon? Where do you think smart products will eventually lead us? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Hey Zanthexter, at time of writing the Echo Dot was long sold out without any word of restocking. Amazon has since released the Echo Dot v2, so you're right that Amazon hasn't abandoned the Echo Dot at all. Sorry about that.

There are smart home light switches and other such products available which make for a true smart home. With them you can manually turn a light on/off or even brighten or dim the light. All using a standard incandescent, florescent, or LED bulb. (With dining capabilities of using a dining switch, of course) This technology has been around for quite a while. Marketing is almost nonexistent, though, and media coverage is limited. The result, consumers are not aware and the idea of smart home becomes exactly what you warn against. As for cost, these switches are not much more than a standard decora style switch with dimming capabilities. Not cheap, but completable to the semi smart bulbs with dedicated apps out there.

The problem is that these cannot be simply screwed in and to add intelligent rules they require a controller running some sort of software. This setup takes time for a decent interface as each house is unique. But I can get a switch and a motion sensor and quickly associate the two so motion turns switch on and a lack of motion turns it off. And yes, I can manually override the light.

The flip side is you could end up with a single app and interface on a phone or tablet to control your entire house. I have an interface which shows me security cameras, allows me to open/close the garage door, and turn lights on or off. If I walk ou if a room, I can turn stuff off manually as well. This is a smart house! Most consumers are making not so smart houses.

I was diagnosed with Progressive multiple sclerosis in 2002. Over the course of the last 15 years, I have not only lost the use of my legs but I have also lost a lot of function from my hands and arms. I am fortunate that I will soon move into an accessible home that is fully equipped with home automation. It will give me the opportunity to once again control lights and temperature and other elements of my environment. I use technology everyday to deal with my disease. Actually, I am dictating this reply right now. I can't imagine how long it would take me to type this much one piece at a time. Thank goodness for technology! In the home and anywhere I can get it it.